F1IP 4110 - Climate Change Economics

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time," said Thomas Stoker, co-chair of the IPCC. It is, therefore, a critical issue that the field of environmental economics can help address. The IPCC's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (2018) is among the most well-known in a long series of reports emphasizing the urgent need to decarbonize both consumption and production systems to prevent the adverse, and potentially catastrophic, consequences of rapid global warming in the 21st century.
This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of climate change, focusing on the role economic policy can play in addressing it. It will explore the mechanisms linking economic activity to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, methods for modelling the societal costs of climate change, and economic instruments policymakers can use to promote decarbonization while preparing for climate adaptation.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge of the main climate change mitigation policy tools and their tradeoffs
2. Understanding of the economic modelling of climate change mitigation and damages
3. Ability to produce policy briefs from the relevant academic literature

Professional Skills:

Redaction of policy brief and/or empirical work
Research & Analysis
Critical thinking

Frédéric REYNES

Séminaire

English

- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 5 hours a week / 60 hours a semester

Minimum background in micro and macroeconomics required

Spring 2024-2025

1. Estimation of the social cost of carbon in various scenarios using the RICE model (take-home paper, 40%)
2. Policy essay (3-4 pages) on a course-related topic, backed by the relevant literature (take-home paper, 45%)
3. Short presentation (max 5 min) of a research article related to the theme of the session (oral presentation, 15%)

Lecture and presentation. Online office hours to help students with their project